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Category Archives: tips

By Allie Pleiter The high volume of production demanded from a category romance author has made me a student of creative productivity. Wrangling an uncooperative muse to meet a deadline is one of the ongoing struggles of every writer, and … Continue reading →

By Beth K. Vogt “The Flash” is must-watch TV in the Vogt household. On Tuesday nights, my husband, teen daughter, and I hunker down in the family room eager to see what’s going to happen in Central City, home to … Continue reading →

By Katherine Reay We like to call them edits. Or perhaps macro-edits, if we want to sound crafty. But sometimes, they are simply re-writes – a ponderous process to push the story where it should have already been. I’ve just … Continue reading →

By Hannah Conway Join a critique group. Yes, that’s some of the soundest advice given to me regarding the wonderful world of writing. Yet, the next part of that advice? Well, it’s more on the strange side. Develop rhino skin. … Continue reading →

By Edie Melson There are a lot of tasks we must master as we make writing a priority. But with these additional tasks, our productivity may drop. Learning how to juggle this multi-tasking is part of becoming a professional writer. … Continue reading →

By Melissa Tagg First of all, can we talk about how the word “blurb” is kinda funny? I mean, say it enough times and it sounds like you’re trying to mimic an animal. What animal, I don’t know. Nor do … Continue reading →

By DiAnn Mills When our stories lack a certain edge, we’re back to the drawing board looking for what we’ve missed. Our novels are like well-oiled machines, each part has to be fine-tuned to work effectively. When are skills, methods, … Continue reading →

By Carolyne Aarsen I am a self-confessed, unabashed outliner. I need to figure out my characters, fill in my character charts, use a beat sheet to lay out the story outline. I need to know where my story is going … Continue reading →

By Bruce Hennigan There once was a website called Storypraxis. Perhaps you remember it with fondness. If you subscribed to the site, you would receive a “writing prompt” every 3 days. Your job was simple. Write quickly for 20 to … Continue reading →

By Karen H. Richardson Writers have many methods for developing their story. Some are very methodical and create detailed outlines. Some have a spreadsheet that lists chapters, summaries and potential word counts. While others use writing software such as Scrivener … Continue reading →

By Casey Herringshaw We’re told to be on as many platforms for social media as we can get our fist around. Not every social media is for every person and I would more encourage you to find two or three … Continue reading →

by Cheryl Wyatt For this blog post, we’re going to do a little digging. The title mentions seven staples. In the case of this blog post, by staple, I mean the commodity of theme, or something regular that is unique … Continue reading →

By Tamara D. Fickas I was a shy child. The one who wouldn’t talk in first grade. A high school student no one remembered because I couldn’t carry on a conversation with anyone. In college, I wasn’t chose during Sorority … Continue reading →

By Suzanne Woods Fisher Desktop research is a wonderful tool. At a writer’s fingertips is a complete library, filled with information. So how important is it for an author to seek out primary sources? How valuable is it to visit … Continue reading →

By Christen Civiletto Morris Great fiction has sometimes changed the way the world thinks. Readers may have identified so closely with a character’s plight that inaction at the end of the story was not an option. Or, an author’s vivid … Continue reading →